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macOS High Sierra APFS only support SSDs

Raz0rEdge

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macOS High Sierra is going through its public beta and is expected to be released later this year. One of the big features of High Sierra is the introduction of APFS (Apple new filesystem) which is targeting Flash/SSD storage. As per the support note, installing High Sierra on a Mac with a Flash/SSD will cause the conversion from HFS to APFS is automatic and cannot be opt'ed out of.

Macs with regular HDDs and Fusion drive are exempt from the automatic conversion, but it isn't clear if APFS will support those drives (initial thinking is that it wouldn't)..

So, unlike previous upgrades of macOS where you may have been a little gung-** with the upgrade without properly backing up everything, the upgrade to High Sierra isn't one of those. Make sure you have a good (bootable) backup of your existing machine and all of your data (ideally in multiple forms) to go back if things go awry..

Read more: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208018
 
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For mine Ashwin I think it will support both as Apple are still selling platter and Fusion drives in brand new models. To my reading of the link, and from the Apple Developer Forum where folks are running High Sierra on Fusion drives, it will be an optional thing. Also think there is a long way to go before High Sierra really hits the high notes!
 

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Macs with regular HDDs and Fusion drive are exempt from the automatic conversion, but it isn't clear if APFS will support those drives (initial thinking is that it wouldn't)..

Just read through the Apple KB article. Going to be lots of confusion and grinding of teeth when High Sierra goes live. LOL.
 

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To my reading of the link, and from the Apple Developer Forum where folks are running High Sierra on Fusion drives, it will be an optional thing.

I kind of agree that it will be optional. However, I personally will stick with HFS+ as long as what the link says about interoperability is true. No reason in my opinion to break something that's not broken. ;D When I buy my next Mac it will have all Flash storage and then I'll be using APFS.
 

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I've been running the betas since they became available. I currently have it on my 2015 iMac with Fusion drive. The drive is formatted as APFS because I \wanted to test that file system. I had the chance to determine whether I wanted to convert the drive which I chose to do because I wanted to see how it performed.

I have not tested it on a pure platter drive since I don't have a spare around at the moment.
 
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Raz0rEdge

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Again, the beta is allowing you to switch between the two. But on the released version of High Sierra, only flash/SSD will be converted automatically with no opt-out while HDD and Fusion drives will not be automatically converted. There is no indication whether those drives will support APFS at that point..
 

IWT


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I currently have it on my 2915 iMac

Boy, are you ahead of the game! What's it like on the planet now?

Ian
 

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macOS High Sierra APFS only support SSDs



Wow!! I thought that subject heading was a bad joke or a very late April Fools joke at first glance. :\

Anyway, I doubt I'll be using any of it for quite some time.





- Patrick
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Boy, are you ahead of the game! What's it like on the planet now?

Ian



Very, very wet I understand and it seems like some unique cases of soggy brain are showing up in places. :Smirk:




- Patrick
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Boy, are you ahead of the game! What's it like on the planet now?

Ian
Wow. Apparently I have perfected time travel and didn't realize it. Can't tell what the planet is like. If I do they take away the Mac and make me do my computing on a Kaypro or Wang system.
 
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Do we know if it applies to changed out drives? I changed to an SSD in my mini, is that considered all flash?
 
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Do we know if it applies to changed out drives? I changed to an SSD in my mini, is that considered all flash?


I would sure think and assume so. Can't get much more flashier than a true all SSD I'd say.





- Patrick
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The reason I asked, was because I did not think Apple used SSD drives in any of their Macs, only HDD and Flash storage. And, the Article never mentioned SSD drives, only Flash and Fusion drives. I did also ask on Apple Support Forums, just to see if anyone there knew too.
 
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Raz0rEdge

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Flash = SSD. The iMacs only have SSDs through the Fusion drives and the MBPs have the Flash drives (not traditional SATA based SSDs)..
 

chscag

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That's an interesting point that Bob Ferrarr has come up with. Flash storage vs an SSD. What's the difference?

Nothing like more confusion, however, Slydude and his Time Travel Hat should be able to fill us in... :p
 
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Raz0rEdge

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A SSD has at it's core the flash component, the other part of it is the connector either PCIe (MBPs) or SATA (replacement to traditional HDD).
 
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Flash storage vs an SSD. What's the difference?


AFAIK and as Ashwin stated about the connectors, and from what I've read, the SSDs normally use better quality and faster chips than the smaller "flash" or "thumb" drives as they are referred to.

No doubt, there may also be a small difference in some of the circuitry each uses.


EDIT:
Well sure lots of info out there like:

https://www.google.ca/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=What's+the+difference+between+a+SSD+and+flash+drive&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&gfe_rd=cr&ei=HNGoWZrHIsve8AfTqIXwCQ

And then some hits like:
SSD vs. HDD: What's the Difference?
SSD vs. HDD: What's the Difference?
and
The Difference Between SSD and Flash Hard Drives
The Difference Between SSD and Flash Hard Drives






- Patrick
======
 
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IWT


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If I may quote directly from the second of Patrick's excellent links: (Source acknowledged as https://danielmiessler.com/blog/the-...es/#gs.5zv17Ig)

1. Modern SSD hard drives are Flash-based, so today there’s not really a difference today between SSD and Flash. SSD is simply a disk that doesn’t have moving parts, and Flash is the implementation that allows that to happen.

2. USB thumb drives have used Flash storage for a long time as well, but the quality of the Flash storage in those is typically much lower than the Flash memory used in SSDs. This means much worse performance, etc.

3. In short, you shouldn’t compare Flash to SSD just as you shouldn’t compare batteries to lithium-ion. In both cases the latter is a type of the former.



Ian
 
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Raz0rEdge

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Getting a little off-topic here..but yes, flash parts come in different variety best suited to the size (both physical and storage) they need to conform to..the smallest of microSDs use a particular type of flash part that has a very short lifespan, but is darn cheap. The SSDs on the other end of the spectrum use the type that has quite a long life but also is more expensive, but since the entire SSD is being sold for more than a microSD, the cost makes sense..
 

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